Why H&S loves Covid-19

TECHNICAL

ONLINE CONCRETE

TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES

Concrete manufacturers and contractors throughout South Africa have unprecedented opportunities to expand their concrete knowledge as a result of the development of accredited online training courses.

The School of Concrete Technology (SCT’s) offering of online training this year covers 10 courses, aimed at diverse levels of competency in the industry. John Roxburgh, senior lecturer at Cement & Concrete SA’s SCT, says whereas in the past potential students in places such as Durban and Cape Town, for example, were offered only a handful of live courses every year, the introduction of online training by the SCT now means hundreds of students based in even the most

(Above): John Roxburgh, senior lecturer at Cement & Concrete SA’s SCT.

“ONLINE TRAINING BY THE SCT NOW MEANS HUNDREDS OF STUDENTS BASED IN EVEN THE MOST REMOTE AREAS OF SA CAN REGISTER.”

TECHNICAL

remote areas of SA can register and receive such essential training.

“The time involved in attending the courses has also now been drastically reduced. The courses normally presented live stretched over one to five days, but in the online environment, the training can be stretched over a few more days to cater for students who need to do most of their studies after work. SCT is also offering substantial discounted costs this year,” Roxburgh explains.

The courses for which “flexitime” online training is now nationally available are:

• SCT10 “Introduction to Concrete”: A course recommended for small, medium and microenterprises, junior technical and sales staff or any individual seeking a short introduction to concrete.

• SCT12 “Mortars, Plasters, Screeds and Masonry”:

Originally developed to assist NHBRC inspectors, the course explains best practices for sandcement mixes, what can go wrong with it and how to prevent such problems. It is ideal for masons, those managing projects and people who will be assessing the finished work.

• SCT13 “Making Concrete Bricks and Blocks”: A course that provides rudimentary understanding of how to manufacture masonry units that could become the cornerstone of a new business.

• SCT15 “Concrete for Batchers and Batch Plant

Staff”: This course covers important training on how to produce quality readymix concrete.

• SCT20 “Concrete Practice”: Recommended for foremen, clerks-of-work, technicians, supervisors, sales and technical staff in the construction, as well as mining industries.

• SCT21 “Concrete Industrial Floors on the

Ground”: Aimed at helping engineers and contractors by giving a broad, detailed and practical overview of all facets of industrial floor construction.

• SCT30 “Concrete Technology”: An intensive course for civil and structural engineers, experienced technicians and technologists, providing detailed knowledge of how cement and concrete works. Recommended for electrical, mechanical and mining engineers to meet their mining qualification requirements.

• SCT36 “Properties of Concrete for the Structural

Designer and Constructor”: A special course for engineers with experience or training in concrete technology to refresh their knowledge of important concrete concepts.

• SCT41 and SCT42 “Concrete Technology and

Construction (Stage 2 and 3)”, offered by the

Institute of Concrete Technology (ICT) of London:

These are ideal bridging courses for potential candidates for the intensive SCT50 “Advanced

Concrete Technology” diploma, the world’s leading qualification in concrete technology, run at the SCT every two years.

Roxburgh says the online versions of the training courses have been enthusiastically welcomed by students. “The lockdown has given people more time to study, they have learnt how to use online meeting platforms such as Zoom and Teams, and the discounted tariffs now offered by the school have also been a major incentive.

“The fact that we can offer training for a specific company’s personnel – at a suitable time for the client – also means that staff productivity can be maximised as there’s no travel or lecture room time involved. Furthermore, as the lecture sessions are recorded, a delegate who misses it can view it later,” he adds.

OHS

WHY H&S LOVES COVID-19

If any positives can be taken from the current Covid-19 pandemic, the prioritisation of professional health and safety standards in the workplace must rank highly among them.

Suddenly risk management professionals’ voices are being heard. The professional services they provide are being heeded and their recommendations are being taken with the seriousness they always deserved, but were seldom afforded.

This is according to Nico Pienaar of ASPASA, whose members produce the majority of building materials, sand and aggregates for the local market. He adds that the pandemic has elevated the need for basic hygiene, disease identification, emergency response readiness, training and many other aspects in order to effectively mitigate the risks of transmitting the disease.

RIGHT RESPONSE

“What we’re experiencing again is the application of pure, unadulterated health and safety principles in response to the threat. The only difference is that this time, those principles have the buy-in of everyone and the required response has been legislated and well communicated to deal with the spread of the disease as best we can,” says Pienaar.

“Historically, this hasn’t been the case with other health risks – even the most serious threats to the well-being of people in the mining industry have been largely ignored or dealt with only by providing personal protective equipment [PPE]. Why don’t we see anything like the same response to HIV/Aids, diabetes, heart disease, silicosis, alcoholism, road safety or violent crimes in the workplace? Are these causes of death less significant than Covid-19 deaths, or are lower death tolls for some of these inflictions more acceptable? The answer is a resounding ‘no’.

“Even one death is one too many and ASPASA seeks to encourage the industry and all our members to continuously assess all risks in the workplace. In addition, we must seek effective strategies to deal with and mitigate them.”

HIGHEST PRIORITY

Pienaar adds that Covid-19 has rightly turned safety into an educated, intelligent, humanising and peoplecentric practice. “What we’ve seen during this pandemic has been the assessment of the situation, modelling of possible outcomes and the adoption of a risk-related plan that’s designed to deal with all aspects of the disease in the workplace. Rather than focusing on one or two core areas, such as the application of PPE or policing of people on site, the current health and safety response is all-encompassing and has the flexibility to change every day, as required.

“Perhaps the current model can be adapted and applied to all spheres of our lives, from the legislation of appropriate responses to the situation on the ground, as well as risk assessment and managing those risks with a combined and effective response.

“This type of response can help us overcome more sicknesses in the workplace, prevent injuries and stamp out other risks that affect our safe and expedient careers in the mining industry,” he says.

(Above): Nico Pienaar of ASPASA.